Serb Civilians Detained in Stupari Allegedly Received Pensions and Aid

At the trial of former Bosniak forces accused of unlawfully detaining Serb civilians, a defense witness said the Serb population which was housed in teachers’ buildings in Kladanj in 1992 and 1993 regularly received their pensions.

The defendants, Safet Mujcinovic, Selman Busnov, Nusret Muhic, Zijad Hamzic, Ramiz Halilovic, Nedzad Hodzic, Osman Gogic and Kahro Vejzovic, are all former members of civil and military police and the Territorial Defense in Stupari. Mujcinovic was the commander of the Stupari police station.

According to the charges, the defendants unlawfully detained Serb civilians who lived in villages in the Stupari area in the summer of 1992. They’ve also been charged with the assault and inhumane treatment of Serb civilians.

Testifying in defense of Safet Mujcinovic, Rasim Hadzikic said he distributed the pensions of the allegedly detained Serbs in May 1992. He said that Serb civilians from the surrounding villages were accommodated in teachers’ buildings in Stupari, but he didn’t know how they got there.

Hadzikic said the mailman who covered that area regularly regularly distributed pensions as well as humanitarian aid to the Serb civilians housed in the teachers’ buildings.

“Ilija complained that it wasn’t enough. That’s what I heard,” Hadzikic said.

Hadzikic said after the complaint, he began transporting more humanitarian aid to the teachers’ buildings.

Sajma Causevic, the second witness to testify in Mujcinovic’s defense, said she lived in a house across the street from the teachers’ buildings during the war and socialized with the people who lived in them, particularly two women named Vojka and Borka.

She said a girl who resided in the teachers’ buildings played with her daughter.

“The children spent time together, played with each other. The little girl slept over sometimes,” she said.

Causevic said the Serbs housed in the teachers’ buildings lived in good conditions and could live normally.

“They even praised the police for guarding them so well that nobody harmed them,” she said. She said they also praised Hodzic for protecting them.

The trial will continue on May 29.